"Finally, we're here."

Mai took a cautious look around. "Really? W-we're here? This… this is it?"

Wonderful. Now Mai's afraid to speak. Either that or I'd done more damage than I'd thought…

"Yes, Mai. This is it. Feel free to look around while I go have a talk with someone." I rested a caring hand on her shoulder, trying to ease the tension.

She looked over at me with a brilliant smile before running off to explore.

It was nice to see her happy again. After our little confrontation, Mai had been quiet and kept to herself. I almost missed her mindless chattering.

The village we'd arrived at was high enough to have escaped the snow, but low enough to keep from freezing altitude temperatures. Though, that wasn't the only reason this was devoid of the evidence that weather hit here at all. This village was demonic. Jaken should remember it well.

"Sire, isn't this…"

"Yes, Jaken. I'm glad you remember. I assume you have business here, as do I."

The imp nodded. "I'll catch up with you later, milord!" Jaken called out, running off towards his destination.

I turned towards the dragon yokai. "Watch after Mai," I demanded, walking off as well.

The yokai let out a low, content grumble and laid down on the cool ground.

I looked at my surroundings, noting the few changes that had overcome the area. I wouldn't exactly call this a village, considering it's more like a gathering spot. Passing demons were welcome to stay the night in the inn or join the festivities. This was the kind of place where you put all differences aside and acted as equals. I always assumed the effects worked due to some spell placed on the mountain long ago.

Judging by the looks of the afternoon sky, they'll probably be throwing another… bash, of sorts, while the night's young. If you could at least behave like you were civilized for a few hours, you were welcome to join.

I fear that Mai won't be so welcome here, though. If there's one thing the spell doesn't ward off is the hatred demons hold towards humans. But if anyone even thinks of laying a hand on her, they better think twice or they'll find themselves in hell sooner than they ever imagined.

ooo

"Sesshomaru! Its nice to see you. I never thought you'd show your treacherous face around here again," the old man laughed. He was one of the old sages. He considered me to be a traitor after I disagreed to work with him on some devious plot of his. I simply told him I worked alone and that was that.

I kept a straight face and answered him calmy, "I highly doubt you are the one I should be talking to at the moment."

"Nonsense! I run the place now, after…," he rubbed his bald head in a moment of grief, "after Hisao was brutally murdered."

"Ironic name," I looked at the man closely. ((Hisao means long-lived man, for those of you that don't know. Hey, I could be wrong. But it doesn't hurt to be wrong, unless it's rocket science :D))

Kenta laughed. "He did live a long life, but it came to a sudden and quick end."

"Who is at fault?"

With a sly look in his eye, he responded, "I am."

For a moment I didn't understand what he meant. Kenta went on to elaborate.

"Hisao and I went out for a little hunt and we messed with the wrong people. I wasn't strong enough to hold them off and they took him and killed him without mercy. But, hey, that's the risk you're born with being born demonic, right?"

I quickly agreed and changed the subject. "What about tonight's festival?"

"Ahh, the festival. The moon is high tonight, directly overhead. We'll be able to contact the lost spirits."

My gaze shifted around the small room. "The ones that couldn't cross over, nor could they be reincarnated."

"Correct. A sorcerer stopped in recently and he said he would like to help with their little problem…"

"Helping them cross over," I nodded.

"No, obliterating them." He smiled.

I laughed in disbelief. "You're kidding."

He shook his head.

"No living thing should have to witness such an event. I can't imagine a worse fate than having your soul ripped apart. Its worse than torture."

An evil, fanged smile curled on Kenta's face. "Precisely."

I turned and left the small structure without another word. My first intentions were to take Mai and Jaken and leave, considering the festival activities weren't appropriate for anyone. But I got to thinking, that wasn't the problem. I had business here, and I had to stay until it was taken care of.

ooo

"…What's this?" Mai asked, taking the strange, paper-wrapped, twine-tied package I handed her.

"Consider it an apology." I never was good with words.

Mai watched me for a moment, watching for a tell. She cautiously looked down towards the package in her hands and sat down on the ground in a clumsy fashion. She carefully untied the twine bow and tugged at the paper. Mai cocked her head to the side and mumbled quietly, "The Chinese dragon…"

"Yes. If I'm not mistaken it is the same red Chinese dragon as the one on your festive kimono."

She carefully held up the white silk and studied it carefully. "It's… nice," she said humbly, brushing the soft silk against her cheek. "Sesshomaru… you did spend an awful lot on Mai, didn't you?"

I contemplated the different possible answers to tell her, finding only one would suit her. Simply put, "I did," as if to leave no further pending question.

"It's nice," Mai repeated without the prior pause.

I hummed for a moment, satisfied.

She buried her face in the silk kimono for a moment then looked to me for an answer. "Why do you care so much about Mai? No one else ever has. No one else has ever thought I was worth anything more than—"

"But you are, Mai. I can see more than you can by looking at your own reflection. Your low self esteem doesn't allow you to see more than a servant girl. I see you from a new perspective, one unbiased by the world around us." I held out my hand to help her up.

Once on her feet, Mai handed me the twine and paper. She held the kimono to herself and I got my first good look at the fine silk article.

The red dragon was interrupted on each side of her chest, but it would sit nicely and lined up well when tied with an obi. The rest of the kimono was pure white. The style was simple yet elegant, which I thought greatly off-set Mai's personality.

Mai folded the kimono and held it close to her. She walked up to me and stood up on her toes. As if at a loss for words, she kissed me for a moment and soon began to walk off.

I chuckled lightly to myself before heading in the opposite direction. There was a well in the center of this small village and it seemed like the only option at the time. Nothing entertaining was happening, so maybe some rest might come in handy.

Once at the well, I sat down, my back leaning against the cold, stone surface. I stretched one leg out, the other close to my chest. "Mai, you are wearing me out," I mumbled to myself, finding that I was more exhausted than my body wanted to lead on.

I had never really grown tired in my life. I hadn't the need for sleep nor did I think of it. Meeting Mai seemed to change that. Her little quirks broke my immunity to exhaustion and now I feel weak, like a human.

Humans get tired; they work all day, they eat their dinner, then they rest until dawn. They repeat that process for the rest of their monotonous lives. I have their stamina, one hundred-fold. So how is it possible that this simple human girl can drain so much of my energy?

Well, like I said, Mai has surpassed many impossible tasks before. Its bound to happen again.

I closed my eyes and sighed, drifting off a bit.

"Bored?"

I shook my head and grumbled, "Tired," to the familiar voice.

"Ah. I'm thankful." She rested her head on my arm.

"For what, Mai?"

"For a lot of things, really." She seemed to be thinking rationally now, her thoughts and words mature for the moment.

"Anything in particular?" I asked, my tone never changing from plain, yet curious.

She shook her head, her left temple rubbing against my arm. "Mainly, you."

I smiled lightly at the contradicting answer and gesture. "How late is it?"

She lifted her head up towards the sky. "Past sundown. Jaken and I have been searching for you for a while."

I let out a held breath through my nose. "So I haven't been here long." Judging by the amount of sunlight we had when we arrived, which wasn't much, and the time we spent roaming around, I hadn't been there longer than it took the sun to set.

She shook her head and spoke quietly, "Are you okay?"

I didn't answer directly. "You think something is wrong?"

"Jaken told me that you never used to sleep. That is, until you met me."

My thoughts exactly. "Nothing is wrong, Mai. I assure you." I opened my eyes to take a look at the new night sky.

"Are we going to the festival?" she asked.

I shook my head. "We were. It's best we don't."

She sighed. "Is it because I'm human?"

"No. That wouldn't matter in any case. Their activities for the night aren't something a human should witness, let alone a demon. It's unjust." I turned to look at her, kissing the top of her head. "Trust me on this one."

She giggled quietly. "So… now what, then?"

I quickly noticed something was different about her. "Your hair is up."

She smiled. "Yep."

"…And you're wearing your new kimono."

Her smile grew and she closed her eyes. "Of course." Mai's childish side took over once more, something I missed for the past few minutes. "I'll have to get used to it. It's not much longer than my last one ((Which was pretty damn short in the first place!!!)) but it is thicker." She tugged at the fabric sitting above her knees. "It won't provide much warmth. I thought about layering it like those fancy geishas like do to so much, but I remembered I'm nothing like them. I'm not even pretty enough for a head of the village to show off to passing men."

I laughed at her lack of knowledge. "If anyone is showing you off it would be me. You're untouchable to everyone else, remember?"

"Do you think I could pass as one of those pretty ladies?" she asked.

"Mai, not only are they born into it, but it's almost slavery. They're paraded around like they are useless, even if they are considered beautiful and flawless by some."

She sighed. "You… didn't answer my question…"

I looked at her.

Mai stood up. "It's fine. Really." She brushed off her elegant new kimono and began to walk off.

I grasped her hand, pulling her back to sit down. "You didn't let me answer," I laughed. "I didn't answer because you didn't let me. Plus, I'm not done with you yet. We still have something to talk about."

Confused, she looked at me and sat down. "…Go on, Sesshomaru."

"I don't think you could pass for one of them because you're too beautiful. The others will be much too jealous. Plus, geishas have to be unattached…"

She giggled. "Thank you… But what else did you want to talk about?"

"Earlier you were able to control fire, correct?" I carefully grasped her left hand once more, rolling up the silk sleeve of her kimono. I tapped the stone in the center of the armband curiously. "You weren't afraid," I told her, rather than asking. I knew for a fact that she wasn't.

She quickly pulled the sleeve back down and took her arm back defensively. "…I know… You needed help! I was just chipping in."

"Mai not too long ago you wouldn't even think of doing that, and you didn't even flinch at the thought."

She nodded. "I know… I just feel safer now. I trust you… You always made it better when I've gotten hurt. I know you'll still help me if I do, so I didn't have to think twice."

Right then I understood perfectly. It was logical, now if she could just manage to learn to master the damned thing completely. It would save us both a lot of stress, and she could defend herself if I happened to not be there.

"So… what do we do now?"

I smiled and brought my arm around her shoulder, pulling her close to me. "Now, we wait for something better."

The thundering sound of drums vibrated through the air, along with joyous laughter and hollers.

Mai groaned. "I'll take care of them." She stood up and clenched her fists.

Confused, I didn't try to stop her. I could tell she wanted to go to the festival, she'd always seemed to be one for parties and such. Jealousy made her want to stop their party. And, she did.

Mai buried their little party in at least eight feet of snow. This place being of demonic nature kept our natural weather. It said nothing about keeping out demonic weather!

The snow slid off unstable regions, some managing to reach us.

Mai and I laughed, our childish mischief giving me an idea. "Run before they catch us!" I grabbed Mai's hand and quickly but gently pulled her away. To find Jaken… "Jaken!" I called out, seeing the green imp sleeping by the dragon yokai. "Are you enjoying yourself?"

He cleared his throat, waking up in a rush, "As a matter of fact—"

"Not now, we need to leave. Immediately!"

Mai giggled.

"What's so funny?" Jaken asked.

"Oh… nothing…"